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Topic: Essential starters for a Rotex 90? (Read 2348 times)

I've already got an ETS 125 and the Pro 5 sanders and just ordered the Rotex 90 with the 15% ebay discount code. My favorite grits with the 125mm sanders are 180, 220, 320, and 400 and I'm wondering what could be considered the essential sandpapers/accessories for the RO90. The initial usecase I've got in mind for the RO90 is a yearly sanding of a cedar Adirondack chair which the 125mm sanders can't get to all the spots on, but I'm also open to suggestions on the RO90's abilities that I might not appreciate yet. I've already got Mini and CT26 dust extractors so I'm covered on that end.

« Last Edit: July 12, 2018, 01:50 AM by sprior »

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It depends wholly on what you want to do but obviously USPs of the Rotex are the delta mode and the rotary mode. So get some delta paper for the grits you need, and if applicable get some low grit paper to strip paint/finish using the rotary mode. And I think it doesn't come with a hard (blue) 90mm pad, that's useful to have.

Especially if you do a lot of corner/joint sanding, it's really easy to burn through the velcro on those pads around the corners, and quickly make it unusable for that application. Propoer sanding technique can extend the life of the pad (like not digging into corners/edges), but sometimes it's unavoidable when you are working in a really tight spot.

I would definitely get a few interface pads as well, as the R90 is a fantastic contour sander/shaper.

I remember a while back some dealer in the US was selling Festool sandpaper assortments, I bought one for the ETS125, can't remember who it was - might be time to order another assortment for both the delta and round heads of the RO90.

The mention of headlight covers above did remind me that my fiberglass bathtub has a scratch in it. Does anyone know what you'd use to fill the scratch and how far off the instructions for the headlight covers would the procedure for fiberglass be? I would assume this would be very similar to fixing a scratch on a boat.

The Rotex 90 got delivered today. I'm a little surprised that there were only two sample pieces of sandpaper included, 80 grit in two shapes. Seemed a little stingy to me, with the Pro5 I got an envelope with a sampling of maybe 5 grits. Good thing I didn't have something I needed to do with it this weekend.

I had to do more extensive patching in a fiberglass tub... Don't ask... As the last step, I used Evercoat Marine Gel Coat Scratch Repair Kit. They sell a couple colors (white, buff, and clear) or a large kit with primary colors to mix a custom color. I bought from Amazon, but I'm sure it's available other places as well.

Make sure the area is super clean. Apply a little at a time, wait for it to dry, then apply more if necessary. Once the scratch is completely filled, you can sand and polish to make the repair virtually invisible. I think I started with 220 grit and worked my way up.

Just a week after I got my RO90 I decided that since almost everything in my workshop is on wheels I should clear it out and redo the concrete stain floor. So the RO90 got called into duty with 40 grit paper to sand down any rough spots in the concrete or places where I had drips of stuff like polyurethane. That thing's a beast.The before picture:

I was just using the Granat 40 grit. I was doing spot fixes, not stripping the entire floor and it was often more about sanding spots of polyurethane that made little high spots. But I think in a few places I sanded down some small peaks in the concrete itself.

I don't want to hijack a thread, but figured this was better than creating another one with some duplicated information. My current sander is the Pro5 only. I like the sander and use it often. However, I have a large(ish) panel glue up currently (58x15) that I'd like to have something more aggressive for. That said, as there could be 5000 questions, I'm looking for the best option. I'm not too overly concerned about the price differences between the 90, 125 and 150. Also, if you think there is a better sander for me to complement the Pro5, I'm all ears.

I think it says a lot that when I bought the RO90 I thought the first project it'd be used for is detail sanding a cedar Adirondack chair, and the first project I'm actually using it for is sanding epoxy patch flush on a concrete floor - and yes it can do either of those jobs depending on the mode you use.

The 90mm head might be a bit small for a large panel so maybe get one of the bigger ones, but the Rotex seems like a great compliment for the Pro5.

I wouldn't recommend the RO90 for anything "large-ish" unless it's one-time and you intend it for other uses. The pad size is too small to make it quick and in Rotex mode it's also too aggressive to make a larger surface flat.

I don't want to hijack a thread, but figured this was better than creating another one with some duplicated information. My current sander is the Pro5 only. I like the sander and use it often. However, I have a large(ish) panel glue up currently (58x15) that I'd like to have something more aggressive for. That said, as there could be 5000 questions, I'm looking for the best option. I'm not too overly concerned about the price differences between the 90, 125 and 150. Also, if you think there is a better sander for me to complement the Pro5, I'm all ears.

Thanks,Kevin

For "large(ish)" work, get the 150 unless you want to keep the same sandpaper size as your current Pro5. The 150 is an absolute beast for stripping large surfaces. I can't imagine the 90 would stay as level as you'd like and not dig in, though I don't own one myself to know how bad it would be.

I don't want to hijack a thread, but figured this was better than creating another one with some duplicated information. My current sander is the Pro5 only. I like the sander and use it often. However, I have a large(ish) panel glue up currently (58x15) that I'd like to have something more aggressive for. That said, as there could be 5000 questions, I'm looking for the best option. I'm not too overly concerned about the price differences between the 90, 125 and 150. Also, if you think there is a better sander for me to complement the Pro5, I'm all ears.

Thanks,Kevin

For "large(ish)" work, get the 150 unless you want to keep the same sandpaper size as your current Pro5. The 150 is an absolute beast for stripping large surfaces. I can't imagine the 90 would stay as level as you'd like and not dig in, though I don't own one myself to know how bad it would be.

Thanks for the reply @nvalinski...I'm sure this has been hashed out ad naseum, but what benefit would I get for the 125 vs the 150 and vise versa? Assume the 90 is out of the question. I'm certainly happy spending the additional $100 for the 150 if it gets me "better".

@smirak, the 150 gets you an additional 40% more surface area on the pad, which presumably means you'll be able to work 40% quicker. The increased area also makes it slightly easier to keep it flat over a 125. I don't think there are any major weight reductions going with the 125, so it really is entirely up to if you want to introduce another sandpaper size into your lineup. Personally, I ended up using both 5" and 6" when I had a Bosch 5" and then acquired an RO 150. The Rotex convinced me to switch entirely over to 6" when my Bosch died, but it's not much more than an upfront expense to obtain more sandpaper of a different size.

Just a week after I got my RO90 I decided that since almost everything in my workshop is on wheels I should clear it out and redo the concrete stain floor. So the RO90 got called into duty with 40 grit paper to sand down any rough spots in the concrete or places where I had drips of stuff like polyurethane. That thing's a beast.The before picture: (Attachment Link)

this makes me curious, is there any danger to doing general shop cleanup without the AS hose? I'm assuming what shows in the Empty picture is the non-as hose? I'd like to make a systainer-based thien separator for my CT26 so that i can use the CT as a general shop vac, but was worried about not having a full Antistatic chain through the whole thing. (and no, i won't be purchasing the new cyclone separator... it's not a true cyclone and costs 480CAD!)

also, a side question, whats the footprint of your grinder stand? I'm about to embark on the same build!

The hose you see in the picture is from the Festool Universal Cleaning Set and is non-antistatic. Besides being lots cheaper than an AS hose it is a lot more flexible, supposedly the new AS hoses are less stiff, but I haven't tried them yet. I would assume it's safe to use the non-antistatic hose otherwise Festool wouldn't sell it. I do notice that static cling causes dust to stick to the outside of the plastic hose sections from the set, but I assume that's because they are plastic.

I've standardized on a workshop cabinet size and the grinder cabinets (there are two of them in the picture) are that size. I make them from one sheet of 3/4" plywood with 1/2" ply for the drawer boxes, 1/4" for the drawer bottoms, and melamine for the top. The double locking casters I use are 100mm from floor to top of plate. I use 3/4" ply for the back and fasten everything together with dominos since it has to be structurally sound standalone. I make the doors and drawer fronts from one piece that I cut from the original piece of 3/4" ply and I make the cuts such that the grain matches through the doors and drawers (yeah, that kinda nuts). The drawer boxes are 100mm high, the drawer fronts are 130mm high. I use the LR32 system for the shelf holes and hinges. I've been lazy for the last few cabinets and cut the pieces for the drawer boxes including the through and stopped dados for the drawer bottoms on the X-Carve CNC.

I can't remember the other dimensions offhand, but if you like I'll post a cutlist (except for the drawer boxes) and CAD drawing sometime tonight/this weekend.